Display system for transportation networks

Abstract

A display device controlled via a smart phone (preferably using an TNC App) to display content selected by a requesting rider (e.g., code, symbol, the rider name, or a photo) in a clear and visible way to the waiting rider is a convenient method to identify the rider's designated vehicle instead of trying to search through model, color, and license plates of approaching vehicles as they enter a pickup area (e.g., airport designated area). The selected content is displayed on a display unit on the designated vehicle, and is transmitted to the display unit via a server associated with the designated vehicle using a secure protocol.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A system for displaying user-selected information on a designated vehicle, the system comprising:
 a user interface, wherein a prospective rider enters a ride request and a display content into the user interface, and wherein the display content is created by the prospective rider and is specific to the ride request; 
 a display unit on the designated vehicle, the display unit having a unique identification number, a display medium, and a client; and 
 a server associated only with the designated vehicle and in communication with a cloud-based server, 
 wherein the server is in communication with the client, 
 wherein, when the ride request results in the designated vehicle being selected and accepted to fulfill the ride request, the client receives the display content from the server and requests the display device medium to display the display content, 
 wherein the display unit, upon receiving the display request, sends the client a challenge including the unique identification number to match, and 
 wherein, if the client matches the challenge, the display medium displays the display content such that the display content is viewable from outside the designated vehicle for at least a portion of a time period between when the ride request is entered and when the ride request is fulfilled, and, if the client does not match the challenge, the display medium will not display the display content. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1 , wherein the display content is an image of the prospective rider. 
     
     
       3. A system for displaying information from a vehicle, the system comprising:
 a display unit having a unique identification number, a client, and display medium and being attached to a designated vehicle, wherein information displayed on the display medium is visible to observers outside the designated vehicle; 
 a transportation application linked to server associated only with the designated vehicle, the transportation application including a set of instructions for:
 receiving a ride request from a user; 
 receiving user-created content for display from the user, wherein the user-created content is specific to the ride request; 
 selecting the designated vehicle to fulfill the ride request based on the ride request; and 
 sending the user-created content to the server, 
 
 wherein the server sends the user-created content to the client and the client sends a request to the display medium to display the user-created content, 
 wherein the display unit sends a challenge including the unique identification number to the client to match, and 
 wherein, when the client matches the challenge, the user-created content is displayed on the display medium of the selected designated vehicle for at least a portion of a time period between the receiving of the ride request and fulfilling the ride request. 
 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the display unit includes a heads up display (HUD) and a mirror configured to reflect the user-created content from the HUD such that the user-created content is visible to and oriented properly for observers outside the designated vehicle. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the user-created content is an image of the user. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 3 , wherein the server is a smart phone associated with an operator of the designated vehicle. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 5 , wherein the display medium is an LED display matrix and the LED display matrix displays scrolling text of the user-created content. 
     
     
       8. A method of displaying information on a ride request fulfillment vehicle to facilitate fulfillment of a user-requested ride comprising:
 receiving a ride request from a prospective rider; 
 receiving content for display from the prospective rider, wherein the content is created by the prospective rider to be displayed on the ride request fulfillment vehicle and is specific to the ride request; 
 selecting a vehicle to fulfill the ride request based on the ride request; 
 sending the content to a server associated only with the selected vehicle; 
 sending a request to display the content from the server to a client of a display unit having a display medium; 
 sending, in response to the request, a challenge including a unique identification number associated with the display unit from the display unit to the client to match; and 
 displaying, only if the client matches the challenge, the content on the display medium on the selected vehicle for at least a portion of a time period between the receiving of the ride request and fulfilling of the ride request.